so I've been helping my manager build a rod last 2 weeks and he finally got it all wrapped and the but wrap finished and it was a truly good quality rod. So we started putting the rod finish on and it was going on pretty good then the rod dryer just quit...

Apparently the gears were slipping which i fixed later but for the time being we had to put it back in the wrapper and he turned it by hand while I fixed the rod dryer . Then I don't know if while i was fixing the dryer the epoxy set up a little too much well then it was all thick and left big humps on the butt wrap and some gaps that wouldn't fill i...to say the least it was frustrating.

I don't know what the problem was whether it was the humidity of the garage or the problems with the dryer or what but it looked like crap this morning a second coat made it better but still some problems on the butt wrap.

have any of you guys had this problem?
do you think it was the humidity or the fact the rod dryer took a crap right in the middle of applying the finish?

Epoxy isn't affected by humidity. You simply put on too much finish at one time.

I always rotate mine by hand - just a flip 180 degrees every 5 to 10 minutes as needed. The finish ends up glass smooth.

Your manager might not have rotated it at the proper intervals but my suspicion is that you simply put on way too much finish at one time. Even a constant rotating dryer can't always handle a rod that has too much finish on it. The excess has to go somewhere.


...............

also, due to the complications, maybe the finish was left too long into its pot life and became "globby" for lack of a better term. This could also not let it level as much as it should.

By your words it sounds like there was some rejection of the epoxy in a few spots... this leads me to think contamination. you said you were doing it in a garage, any dust will make it "peak" and not be smooth, and the rejection may be due to airborne contaminants or other...

just throwing my 2 pennies into the ring.

like tom said epoxy isnt effected by humidity because if it was i would have a really hard time using it(i live in south florida and most times i apply my epoxy the humidity is 90-100%) and like he also said you put it on too thick

i did this a few times before i realised it was because i put it on too thick...now i put it on thin and it comes out great and its also easier to keep the bubbles gone when its real thin